Resetting a forgotten WebDefend root password

This article applies to:

• WAF/WebDefend 5.X and above.

Question:

• I'm locked out of the root account. How do I reset it?

Procedure:

• Note: These procedures require physical access to the WebDefend appliance and will take the system offline for the duration of the procedure.

For 6.x

1. Reboot or power cycle the WebDefend appliance.
   • Note: The device starts and gives the option "to enter bios press Delete". Do not press Delete at this point, but wait for a second screen to display and then quickly press Delete.
2. Press the Delete key repeatedly until you see the GNU Grub.
   • If connected directly to the physical console (VGA), enter Single Mode.
   • If connected through the serial port, enter Single mode – Serial console.
3. This should boot the system up in single user mode.
4. You can then change the password using the following command:
   
   passwd
   
   For bgse:
   
   passwd bgse
    
5. Once you have successfully changed the password you can then reboot the appliance by issuing the following command:
   
   reboot

For 5.X

1. Reboot or power cycle the WebDefend appliance.
2. Press the Delete key repeatedly until you see the BIOS password screen.
3. Press the Escape key and immediately start pressing the Delete key again repeatedly (NOTE: You have to do this fairly quickly)
4. At this point you should see the Grub screen.
5. Press p for password and enter the password and press enter. (Contact Trustwave TAC for the bios password.)
6. Select the second line:
   
   ro root=/dev/md2 quiet console=ttyS1,9600n8
    
7. Press e for edit.
8. Modify the line to read
   
   ro root=/dev/md2 single
    
9. Press enter, and then b for boot.
10. This should boot the system up in single user mode.
11. You can then change the password using the following command:
    
    passwd
     
12. Once you have successfully changed the password you can then reboot the appliance by issuing the following command:
    
    reboot